The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rock Springs Field Office (RSFO) is launching a 30-day public scoping period prior to preparing an environmental assessment on a proposal by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to expand the Patrick Draw Field with development of up to 125 new oil, carbon dioxide and water injection wells.

The Patrick Draw Field is located in the checkerboard pattern of mixed land ownership, encompassing approximately 32,781 acres of primarily federal and private land, with a small amount of state-owned land, roughly 30 miles east of Rock Springs, Wyo. in Sweetwater County. Interstate 80 dissects the project which is situated almost entirely within the boundary of the RSFO. The Patrick Draw Field includes the Monell and Arch Units which were developed in the late 1950s to early 1960s, and presently support 128 producing wells. The new proposal includes a combination of vertical and directional drilling of 105 oil wells, 18 carbon dioxide injector wells, and two water injection wells to be developed during the next nine years. The maximum surface disturbance is anticipated to be 160 acres, with the life of the wells projected to be roughly 30 years.

Public comments are most useful when they are specific, cite additional relevant issues and/or determine the extent of those issues. Written substantive scoping comments should be received by Nov. 30, and may be submitted via email, mail, or hand-delivery during regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to:

Before including your address, phone number, email, or other personal identifying information in your comment, please be aware your entire comment–including your personal identifying information–may be made publicly available at any time. While you may request we withhold your personal information from public view, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.